A Valentine's to Remember
by Lonecall
Summary: Valentine’s Day is coming and Harry desperately wants to show Ginny just how much he loves her, but he’s going to need help with this one. Special appearance by Dobby the House Elf. Also contains RHr as well.


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. As much as I'd like to claim it…this is all based on the brainchild of JKRowling. The only thing I own in this fic…is the plot. Hope you enjoy!

**Author Notes:** This is my fluffy little Valentine's Day fic. This is dedicated firstly to Joy (Gwendolyn James). Harry Birthday Sweetie! Also dedicated to all my fellow crazies at Gryffindor Pride (H/G ship on AccioFirebolt forums). Special thanks to Ferret for helping me expand a few ideas and to my wonderful Beta's Cyndi and Izzy! You guys are great!

**Summary:** Valentine's Day is coming and Harry desperately wants to show Ginny just how much he loves her, but he's going to need help with this one. Specially appearance by Dobby the House Elf. Also contains R/Hr as well.

* * *

_**A Valentine's to Remember **_

"Are you all right Harry?"

"Huh?" Harry replied

"I asked if you were alright." Hermione said.

Harry had been sitting in the Gryffindor common room with Ron, Hermione and Ginny for the last twenty minutes. At first they had all been talking about anything and everything, but for the last ten minutes, Harry had been staring blankly into the fire. What was occupying his thoughts you may ask? The beautiful redhead sitting next to him.

"Oh, sorry…I'm fine." He lied.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked.

Harry smiled at her warmly before replying 'yes'.

She smiled back to him before returning to the conversation. In truth, he had a lot on his mind. This was his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. During the previous year, Harry had been extremely depressed. He was faced with the prophecy, the ever grown threat from Voldemort and Sirius' death. Harry had become withdrawn and detached. He separated himself from everyone and everything. He had lost himself in despair. It had been Ginny who dragged him, albeit kicking and screaming, out of his depression enabling him to, once again, escape Voldemort's grasp.

Then there was this past summer. Harry couldn't remember a single summer that was better than this one. He spent record little time at the Dursley's, and happily lived with the Weasley's for the rest of the summer. That's where it happened. He never even saw it coming. He had gone for a walk with Ginny shortly after arriving at the Burrow. She asked him if he wanted to go right after breakfast. It was a beautiful day and Harry was feeling in high spirits so he agreed. They walked all around the Burrow and the countryside. They were talking, laughing and having a great time and before they knew it, it was sunset. They found themselves standing at the top of a small hill watching the sun make its decent. It was truly beautiful and for the first time Harry truly felt at peace. The sun sank behind the horizon, casting them into twilight, and Ginny made a comment about needing to get back. Harry agreed but when they turned to go back, Ginny slipped. Harry tried to catch her but ended up falling with her, rolling down the hill. They reached the bottom laughing with Ginny on top of Harry, and his arms wrapped around her. They just stayed like that for a few minutes, completely engulfed in laughter. When their laughter finally subsided, they found themselves staring at one another. Harry was gazing into her eyes, completely entranced by those beautiful brown eyes. Without even thinking, Harry reached up, softly touched her face and kissed her. He couldn't believe he was actually kissing Ginny, little Ginny Weasley. What shocked him even more, however, was the fact that she was kissing him back. He couldn't remember ever really thinking about her this way, or feeling about her the way he did right now and yet, from this moment on, he couldn't imagine thinking or feeling any other way. That day marked the start of their relationship as well as the happiest day in his life. They returned to the Burrow hand-in-hand and smiling brightly. It wasn't long after that day that they finally got Ron and Hermione together as well, but that's another story.

The largest thing on Harry's mind, however, was Valentine's Day. It was only a week away and he still didn't know what he was going to do for Ginny. He had a couple ideas, and one thing he was positive about; he just wasn't sure how to go about it. He had been wracking his brains for the past week trying to come up with _something_, and failing miserably. He wanted it to be something special, something she'd never forget, and every idea he came up with just didn't seem to be good enough. He finally accepted the fact that he would need help and he knew exactly whom he would have to ask. Conveniently enough, both of them were right there. Talking to Ron would be easy, he could do that in the dorms, but Ron wasn't exactly 'Mr. Romantic' himself. It was Hermione that he really needed to speak with; after all…she _is_ a girl. The question was…how? He knew he needed to wait for Ginny to head upstairs, hopefully before Hermione did, but he didn't know how to achieve this. He was still trying to figure that part out when the solution presented itself.

"I'm going up to bed." Ginny announced, standing up. She leaned forward and kissed Harry. "I'll see you in the morning."

Harry smiled brightly and nodded. He then watched her climb the stairs to her dorm. Once he heard the door shut, he turned to Ron and Hermione.

"No will you tell us what's wrong?" Hermione asked before Harry had said a word.

"What…how did you…" Harry stammered.

Hermione just looked at him expectantly.

"Yes," Harry said, "I need you two to help me with something."

"Ginny?" Hermione asked, though she obviously knew she was right.

Harry just stared at her for a moment. How does she **_do_** that? There were just some things he'd never understand. "Yes. I want to do something really special for her for Valentine's Day but everything **_I_** come up with doesn't seem good enough for her."

Hermione just smiled and Harry got the distinct impression that she had actually been waiting for him to finally ask for help.

"Well what have you come up with so far?"

"Well…I thought about nice dinner…just the two of us…but that's a dumb idea."

"No Harry, that's a really good idea." Hermione said.

"But where? I mean, the Great Hall will be packed and there's no way I'm taking her to Madam Puddifoot's! I want it to be special, not a public performance!"

Ron started to snicker but Hermione just rolled her eyes in a way that only Hermione could.

"Harry think…where, in this castle, could you take Ginny to have a romantic dinner for two…alone?"

Harry just stared at her blankly. "Uh…an empty classroom?" He really didn't like the idea but he couldn't think of where else she could mean.

At this point Ron was turning a beautiful shade of red with suppressed laughter. Hermione just let out an exasperated sigh.

"No Harry. Try 'thinking' of a room that would be perfect. A room you wouldn't have to do anything to and it would still be exactly what you need." she explained as if she were addressing a toddler.

Harry sat there thinking. 'What is she on about? What room would be exactly what I need without me doing anything to it?' Suddenly his eyes widened in comprehension and he felt really stupid for not thinking of it sooner.

"The Room of Requirement!" it was more a statement than a question.

Hermione smiled, nodding her head and kicking Ron, who was fit to explode at any moment. Harry didn't care though, because he was starting to actually formulate a plan. He quickly snatched up a bit of parchment, a quill and started to write furiously. At this point Hermione and Ron both came over and sat down on either side of him. They quickly read down the list Harry was writing.

1. Owl Mrs. Weasley

2. Owl Mr. Weasley

3. Talk to Dobby

4. Find a way of getting to Diagon Alley for a big of shopping

5. Find out Ginny's favorite color

6. Have dress robes altered to fit me again

7. KEEP GINNY FROM FINDING OUT!

"What do you need to owl mum for?" asked Ron.

"So I know what Ginny's favorite meal is."

"Ok…why do you need to owl dad then?

"Just something I want to talk to him about."

"What do you need to get in Diagon Alley?" Hermione asked.

"I want to get a gift for Ginny, and the shop's in Diagon Alley. I also want to get her a nice dress for dinner. You wouldn't happen to know her size would you?"

"Yes Harry I'll help you shop for it." Hermione said, smiling.

"Thanks Hermione" Harry said.

"What about me?" Ron asked.

"Of course I'll need your help." Harry said, reassuringly. "Now this weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend, so we can go into Hogsmeade and then apparate to Diagon Alley. I'll talk to Dobby tomorrow; I know he'll be more than happy to help. I just hope Mrs. Weasley replies soon." he was so excited he was talking a mile a minute.

"Thanks Mate!" Ron said, "and her favorite color is green."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Yup, why do you think she liked your dress robes back in fourth year?"

"I didn't know she did." Harry explained.

"Trust me mate, she did,"

Harry just smiled and read down the rest of his list. This was turning out easier than he thought. He picked up another piece of parchment and quickly scribbled a note to Mrs. Weasley asking about Ginny's favorite meal and explaining why he wants to know. The letter to Mr. Weasley would have to wait till he was alone. This was something he wanted to keep as a surprise.

He rolled up the parchment and ran upstairs to his dorm. He came down a moment later with his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map.

"You're not going now?" Hermione asked.

"I need to send these off as soon as possible. It's only a week before Valentines!" he sounded both excited and panicky.

Harry quickly threw the cloak over him and proceeded to exit the common room. Out in the hall he tapped the map with his wand, muttering the 'magic words' and set off for the owlery. With the help of the Marauder's Map, it was no time before he was in the owlery. Once there, he took out a second piece of parchment, a quill and quickly wrote his note to Mr. Weasley. He spotted Hedwig quickly and called her down. He attached both letters to Hedwig's leg and set her off. Satisfied and feeling highly excited, Harry checked the map and made his way back to the common room without incident. When Harry finally climbed into his four-poster, he found it very difficult to fall asleep. His mind was just a buzz with anticipation.

* * *

The next few days went about as normal as was possible. The following morning Harry had been able to slip off and visit the kitchens with relative ease. Dobby, of course, was more than happy to help and couldn't stop beaming at Harry.

"Harry Potter is too kind sir, to trust Dobby with something so important! Dobby will do his very best sir."

The following day he received Mr. Mrs. Weasley's responses. Harry was quite thankful that they were apparently more clever than he because they had had Hedwig deliver their letters to the boys' dorm so that Ginny wouldn't see them. Harry reminded himself to send them a thank you note for that later. He took the envelopes from Hedwig and, after an affectionate nip, she flew off back to the owlery. He opened Mrs. Weasley's envelope first. Inside it he found two things. The first was her letter saying how she thought it was a wonderful idea and she was more than happy to help and so on and so forth. The second was a recipe. He smiled and put the letter and recipe in his pocket so he would remember to tell Dobby what to cook. Next he opened the envelope from Mr. Weasley. This was the letter he had been anticipating most. He carefully read the letter, a broad smile growing on his face with every word. When he was finished he folded the letter up and hid it away. Now the only part Harry needed to complete was getting to Diagon Alley…without getting expelled. This was the thought running through his head as he sat in the library on Friday evening.

"Everything alright Harry?"

Harry practically jumped out of his seat as Ginny touched his shoulder.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to scare you," She said, sitting down next to him smiling, "I just don't see you in the library that often. At least not without Hermione close by."

Harry chuckled at this. "It's all right. I was just day dreaming I guess."

"Oh really? About what?" she smiled at him.

"About how much I love you." He said. It wasn't exactly a lie…he was doing all of this because he loved her so much. "And what we're going to do in Hogsmeade this weekend."

Ginny blushed at his words. He always seemed to be able to do that to her. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, I figured I had best hurry up and buy your Valentine's gift." He said.

"You don't have to get me anything Harry." She said, blushing again.

"I know I don't _have_ to but I _want_ to." He said smiling. He loved watching her blush. "But that means that you'll have to go off without me for a little while. I don't want you seeing what I'm getting you before I give it to you."

At those words, Ginny pretended to pout at him, but the smile tugging at her lips, and the shine in her eyes, told Harry she wasn't really upset. He smiled and leaned forward giving her a kiss.

* * *

Saturday came all too quickly and Harry found himself walking with Ron and Hermione through the streets of Hogsmeade, his invisibility cloak tucked under his robes. They pretended to be looking at the different shops as they made their way to a more isolated section of the village. There they took off their school robes, hid them under the invisibility cloak, and stashed them off to the side. With a quick look around and a last warning glare from Hermione, the three of them disapparated with a 'pop'. They reappeared outside Gringotts where Harry ran inside quickly and withdrew the money he would need. He walked back outside, rejoined his friends, and set off to do his shopping. The first stop was Madam Malkins to get himself a new set of dress robes and to find a nice dress for Ginny. Hermione took it upon herself to look for the dress while Harry was fitted for his robes. He picked out a nice, emerald green set and Hermione found a beautiful matching green dress for Ginny. The dress was form fitting and very elegant. Harry paid for them and they set out for the other shops. They spent about an hour roaming from shop to shop, making sure they weren't spotted by anyone that could get them in trouble. That was until they ran right into none other than Fred Weasley (or was it George?). Thankfully, Fred was too impressed that they had actually done this to even joke about turning them in. They were just about done when Harry stopped them in front of one final shop. Now was the point that Harry needed to tell them about another part of his plan. He guided them into the little shop while filling them in.

A couple hours later, the three of them apparated back to Hogsmeade and put their school robes back on. Harry quickly threw the invisibility cloak over himself and his purchases, then made his way up to the castle. Once there he ran straight to the dorms where he put all his purchases under his bed before heading back to Hogsmeade. Once he rejoined Ron and Hermione, they set out looking for Ginny.

* * *

All in all, Harry was rather happy with how well everything went yesterday. He was now prepared for Valentine's Day, which was now tomorrow. Everything appeared in order; all he needed was a healthy helping of courage. The gifts were wrapped, the plan set and ready to go. The day would be blessedly free of classes, the majority of the student population would be in Hogsmeade, and Ginny still had no idea. At least he hoped she didn't. Here Harry sat, before the fire in the common room, his lovely girlfriend curled up next to him, sound asleep. On the couch across from them, Ron and Hermione sat asleep in each other's arms, the rest of Gryffindors House asleep in their dorms. Harry looked around, a look of contentment on his face. He couldn't help but wonder if this is what family really felt like. He could see the four of them like this, years down the road, before the fire in one of their houses. As he thought of this, he couldn't help but smile.

"What are you thinking about?"

Harry looked down into Ginny's eyes and smiled even brighter, "The future."

Ginny smiled back, "What about it?"

Harry motioned toward Ron and Hermione and Ginny followed his gaze. She smiled looking at them. They seemed to right together, even if they did have a row at least once a day.

"I was just thinking, we could all be sitting like this years from now. Sitting before a fire in one of our own houses. It's a nice thought." He said completely honestly. He didn't actually mean to be _that_ honest.

"Would you actually want to be with me years from now?" she teased.

Harry looked right into her eyes and she was slightly taken back by what she saw. In his eyes all she could see was an overwhelming love. She found she was having a hard time breathing.

"I can't think of anyone I'd rather be with." He said simply then leaned down and touched his lips to hers. She leaned up into him and deepened the kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck. Harry pulled her closer to him as he returned the kiss allowing his feelings to flow through him.

From the other couch, Hermione couldn't help but smile as she watched two of her best friends express their love for each other in a way words just couldn't. She squeezed Ron's hand and snuggled into him as she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Harry was shaking like a leaf. Everything was set. He had snuck away in the early morning, just before dawn, to make sure Dobby was ready. He then made his way to the Room of Requirement to get it set and ready, which included leaving the gifts there for later. Dobby had asked one of the kitchen elves to stay in the room to keep it there for Harry. Next, Harry quickly made his way back to Gryffindor Tower. Thankfully, everyone was still asleep so Harry ran up to his dorms and got out the last present for Ginny, the dress. It was wrapped up nicely in a box with a card on top. He carried it back down to the common room and waited. Just as planned, Hermione appeared moments later and took the package from him. The plan was to wait for Ginny to leave her dorm and then have Hermione put the box on her bed. Harry sat nervously on the couch waiting for Ginny to wake up. It seemed like hours before he heard the soft foot falls of Ginny descending the stairs. He heart was hammering against his ribcage and he walked over to greet her. She threw her arms around his neck and quickly kissed him.

"Happy Valentine's Day." she said.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too." Harry replied.

They then walked arm in arm down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The moment they were out of the common room, Hermione snuck into Ginny's dorm and left the box on her bed. Down in the Great Hall it was pandemonium. The Hall was decorated with hearts and cupids everywhere. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast as quickly as possible. They had decided that for the first part of the day, they would simply go for a nice walk around Hogwarts and enjoy the beautiful day. They sat by the lake, talking and laughing. They went to the Quidditch pitch for a bit of flying, except for Hermione who busied herself with watching. When it came time for lunch, the four of them had a nice little picnic out on the grounds. Then when sunset approached, they sat out on the grounds and watched the sun fall behind the horizon. Harry looked at Ginny and smiled.

"This reminds me of that day during the summer," he whispered into her ear.

"Me too." she replied and leaned back into him.

Harry just smiled and wrapped his arms around her. All in all it was turning out to be the best Valentine's Harry had ever had. After then sun had finally set completely, the four friends made their way back up to Gryffindor tower. Ron and Hermione plopped down on a couch in front of the fire. Ginny started to walk over to one of the couches, but Harry grabbed her hand.

"I think you should go to your dorm for a minute…I left something on your bed." Harry said.

"And just how did you pull that off, Mr. Potter?"

"I had a little help. Now are you going to go get your present? Or just leave it there all night?"

She smiled to him and quickly ran off to her dorm. The moment she was gone, Harry turned and ran out of the common room and straight for the Room of Requirement. The moment he entered, he quickly changed into his dress robes, and checked to make sure everything was set. Being satisfied that everything was ready, he sent the house elf to alert Dobby. With the house elf gone, Harry began to pace, his heart pounding wildly against his ribs.

Ginny practically burst through the door of her dorm, and sprinted to her bed. She smiled as she looked at the package and took the card. She opened the car and read the note.

'Put this one and come to the Room of Requirement.' was all it said. She put the card on her nightstand and opened the box. Her eyes widen with surprise as she pulled the flowing gown from the box.

"I presume you like it?"

Ginny whirled around. "Oh Hermione, it's beautiful!"

"Well what are you waiting for?" Hermione giggled lightly, "Hurry up and change, he's waiting for you!"

Ginny quickly changed and took a moment to admire herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe how gorgeous this dress was, especially on her. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and put on a pair of black heels, which Harry had also gotten for her. She then started to leave the dorm but stopped and hugger Hermione tightly.

"Thank you." she said.

"For what?"

"Just being you and being my friend."

Hermione just smiled and hugged her back before shooing her out. Ginny descended the stairs quickly and was greeted by many raised eyebrows and a couple wolf whistles. She just smiled and climbed out the portrait hole, leaving a few slack-jawed Gryffindors in her wake.

She arrived at the Room of Requirement and softly knocked on the door. The door opened and she was greeted by an enthusiastic Dobby. Dobby ushered her inside and shut the door. Ginny looked around the room in amazement. The room looked as if it were a small restaurant. Candles lined the walls, illuminating the room with a soft glow. In the center of the room stood a small table, set for two. There, at the table, stood Harry. Ginny's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. He looked extremely handsome in his new dress robes and she could feel her heart racing. Dobby escorted her to the table and Harry pulled out the chair for her.

"You look beautiful." Harry said, kissing her hand.

Ginny instantly blushed to the roots of her hair and sat down. "Thank you," she said, "You look very handsome yourself."

Now it was Harry's turn to blush. "Thank you."

Once they were seated, their plates filled with food. Ginny gasped a little as she saw what was being served.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"I owled your mum." he replied.

"I can't believe you went through all this just for me."

"You deserve it. Now let's eat before this gets cold." he smiled to her.

They say there eating and talking happily. Most of the talk was about the wonderful day they had had so far. Once they were done with the meal, dessert came, along with a small package.

"What's this?" Ginny asked.

"Your Valentine's Day present."

"But Harry, you already bought me this gorgeous dress."

"You needed that for dinner so it's not your present," Harry interrupted her smiling, "Go ahead and open it."

Ginny just smiled and opened the small package to reveal a gold, heart shaped locket. She took the locket out of the box and opened it. Inside was a picture of her on one side and one of Harry on the other. Ginny smiled brightly at the pictures before closing the locket and looking up at Harry. There were a couple tears softly gliding down her cheek.

"It's beautiful Harry, thank you."

Then she leaned forward and kissed him softly. They ate their dessert in relative quiet, Harry having become increasingly nervous.

"What's wrong Harry?" Ginny asked as they finished dessert.

"Nothing." he lied.

"Harry, I know you well enough to recognize when something on your mind." Ginny stated plainly.

Harry smiled and reached across the table taking her hand. It was now or never.

"Ginny," he started, "You mean so much to me. You were a shining light when everything seemed so dark to me. You refused to let me wallow in my despair. I can't believe it took me almost six years to really see you. Now I can't imagine life without you. I told you the other day that I could see us years from now, still together and still in love, and I really can. I can't even imagine myself being with anyone else. You mean more to me than anything else in the world. You've become my life and my reason to fight. I know we haven't been dating that long but I know this is right. I know that it's you I want to spend the rest of my life with. What I'm trying to say is…"

At this point, Harry got out of his chair and came over to hers. He turned her chair so she was facing him and then knelt down before her on one knee. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small black box. He opened it to reveal a ring, a diamond in the center with two smaller emeralds on either side. Ginny's eyes were roughly the size of saucers at this point. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She wondered if Harry could actually hear her heart as it threatened to beat out of her chest. She didn't dare believe what was happened, it was too good to be true. She bit her bottom lip in anticipation.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley," he said, "Will you marry me?"

At those words, Ginny practically launched out of her chair and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist as their lips met. Tears were flowing down both their faces, but neither cared. At this point they were the happiest two people on earth. When they finally parted, Harry took the ring from its box and slid it onto her finger.

"I love you Ginny Weasley."

"I love you Harry Potter."

They leaned forward and their lips met again. A deep passionate kiss, a kiss of two people madly in love with each other, a kiss…of True Love. It would be a long while before they left that room this night. This night that marked a new level in their relationship, and a new page in their lives together.

Years later, as Harry tucked their children into bed then joined his wife on the couch before the fire, he would chuckle as he remembered that he never actually got a 'Yes' that night.


End file.
